Sean

Origin Story for The Greatest Show in all of College Sports: THE WHITEOUT Kirk Herbstreit has called games in Baton Rouge, Eugene, Columbus, and Austin. He still asks the same question every fall: which game is the White Out? It did not start as a spectacle. In 2004, Penn State was coming off a 3-9 season, Beaver Stadium had a reputation as one of the quietest big houses in the sport, and branding director Guido D’Elia needed something. His pitch was simple. Everybody already owns a white T-shirt. Get the student section, about 20,000 strong, to wear it on the same night, or do not bother. Half participation would look splotchy and kill the idea. There was no social media to push it. Interns hit class changes with bullhorns, ran through the HUB in white pants and face paint, and sat down at dining-hall tables to recruit. On October 9, 2004, No. 9 Purdue and Kyle Orton walked into the first student White Out. Penn State lost 20-13. The students did not sit down. Audibles got hard. The idea survived the loss. A year later it became a tradition. October 8, 2005, student section in white, No. 6 Ohio State in town. Tamba Hali put Troy Smith on his head, Penn State won 17-10, and at halftime Herbstreit called that section the best in the country. (I was there and the picture hangs on my wall to this day) Sports Illustrated later tagged Happy Valley home games the greatest show in college sports. In 2007 the dress code went stadium-wide for Notre Dame. Penn State won 31-10, and one night a year has been reserved for it ever since. Herbstreit has not walked it back. In 2018 he called a top-10 Penn State team, a top-10 visitor, and a White Out “the perfect storm,” and said you will not find a more intimidating, more involved crowd for 60 minutes. In 2019 he called Saturday night at the White Out the best atmosphere in college football, and the student section the best in the country by far. By 2021 he was still asking which game it was before the season even started, and still could not figure out how they get near-total buy-in. Other schools get 85 or 90 percent. Beaver gets a wall. It began as a marketing fix for a quiet stadium in a bad year. It stuck because the fans treated one white shirt like a job. Show up. Wear White. Get loud! #WeAre @PennStateMafia @B1OBEY0ND